//------------------------------// // Attack on the Castle // Story: Living Elements of Harmony: Neo Elements // by Intellect Stretcher //------------------------------// Standing at the edge of a cliff, a strange mare watched the city of Canterlot from a very far distance. The mare was able to hear the loud roar hailing from the castle. She gazed at the view of Canterlot as her long, snow white hair blew from under the black fedora and along side her matching scarf. “It is those five barbarians. They are finally stirred awake... so it has started...” she thought out loud. By the sound of her broad, yet soft voice, she seemed annoyed, but secretly she was also relieved. “I hope I can bring honor to my host...” she quietly mused. She adjusted her black hat to cover her left eye and then she covered her muzzle with the scarf, leaving only one of her bright green eyes exposed. Then she moved back, away from the moonlight, and into the shadows of the forest. ----- Everyone inside the castle was left in utter confusion and panic from the loud explosion. Especially the elements of harmony, who were dangerously close to Spike's room. Blue Garnet along with several armored unicorn guards were in a hurry to get the elements to safety. “Secure our guests, don't leave them out of your sights and get them to the hall of the elements-- now!.” Blue ordered, as she was trying to figure out what was going on. She began searching where the loud roar came from-- Spike's room. The door to the room was blown off its hinges and was on the floor in pieces, and large clouds of debris came out of the room. Manipulating the wind with her magic, Blue cleared the air of the flying debris and smoke. Once everything became visible she couldn't believe her eyes at first, but her senses eventually came around. “Impossible...” she muttered. The whole room was torn and burned away to reveal the outside. Just beside the castle was a figure standing twenty stories tall, just tall enough for its head to be in the same level as Spike's room. It looked as if it had rose from a deep sleep as it stretched itself inward, the large, dark green spikes along its spine standing on end, reaching out. Then it let out a yawn, growling loudly and revealing its immensely large maw. Eventually, the creature started to look around when it realized where it is standing. Then it took notice of Blue Garnet. The lieutenant was frozen in awe with her eyes widened like saucers and her jaw hanging. Before she even knew it, the creature started to reach its claws toward her. Blue didn't have enough time to react as the giant's arm approached closer to her. But when its immensely huge claw reached a few yards away from the mare, it stopped. The giant's attention was all of a sudden directed to the bright lights being displayed by Canterlot. Being attracted by the lights, it started walking toward the city. Each one of its steps made a loud thud that shook the earth. When it got far enough, Blue got her senses back; she became terrified to the point she felt a bit light headed. “Lieutenant, we have secured the elements,” a soldier said when he ran up next to the mare. Blue looked down the hall and saw Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy standing at the end with the unicorn guards. They were all scared and waiting for an explanation; Blue was just glad they didn't see what she had saw. Rushing to the end of the hall, she distressingly asked the mares, “is every pony alright?” “We're all alright, but what in tarnation is going on? What's happening here?” Applejack asked on behalf of the other mares. “Where's Spike?” Rarity seemed to worry the most for the baby dragon. “We don't know, but we're looking for him right now,” Blue tried to avoid the truth at all cost with these mares. “I don't know what that explosion was, so we need to get you over to the hall of the elements right now!” “Hold on a second,” Pinkie Pie yelped, “where's Rainbow Dash?” she asked while looking around for her cyan friend. “Don't worry about her,” Shining Armor arrived on the scene with urgency in his tone, “I already sent a few colts to get her here safely. And Twilight is already with the princesses in the hall of the elements; you all must get there immediately.” Shining made a nodding gesture to the unicorn guards, and they led the four mares out of there. “What's going on, lieutenant?” Shining asked as soon as the mares were gone. “I have not the slightest idea,” Blue responded frantically, “but there's a full grown dragon where Spike's room is suppose to be!” “What?” Shining saw in Blue's eyes she wasn't kidding, so he rushed to see for himself. The first thing he noticed is that all the rooms and the floors above and below the room were gone and torn apart too. Then when he looked in the distance, he immediately became stricken with fear when he witnessed the dragon heading towards the city of Canterlot. “We-we have to evacuate the city!” he declared after a few moments of utter shock. “We need to report back to General Mars and the princesses; tell them what's going on!” “Y-yes, sir!” The two unicorns teleported themselves out of there. ----- Meanwhile, away from the castle, Rainbow Dash was in a mix between fear and confusion. Just a second ago she jumped in surprise from her comfortable spot in the patch of clouds when she heard the explosion. Light Speed was equally dumbfounded, and the two pegasi looked at each other with shocked looks with a lot in their minds. “What was that?” Rainbow was the first one to speak. Then the two flew down, past the thick blankets of clouds until they could see the castle clearly. “Wow!” they both shouted. From their place high in the sky, they could see the row of floors torn out from the side of the castle and some smoke coming from them; and they could faintly hear the guards distressingly shouting orders at each other as some were scattering between the city and the castle. “Wh-what in Equestria is going on?” Rainbow asked at Light Speed, who looked back at her with confusion in her eyes as well. “I don't know!” she admitted, her voice was a bit shaky. Before either one of them could do anything else, they noticed three armored royal soldiers flying up to them. “Lieutenant Speed; Ms. Dash, you have to come with us,” the white coated guard in the middle said once he was close enough to the the mares. “What's going on, soldier?” Light Speed asked in the blunt tone that matches her broad voice. “There has been an attack,” the same soldier explained, “and we have orders to bring the elements of harmony into the hall of the elements immediately!” Rainbow gasped as both Light and herself took a second to seep in the facts. A few moments later, Light looked down and slowly grew a smirk; no pony seemed to notice. “So it has started...” she suddenly murmured in a voice so faint Rainbow could barely hear it, but the cyan mare decided not to think much of it. “Come with us, ma'am,” another, gray coated soldier said, directing Rainbow and Light to follow the white guard. Rainbow Dash followed the white soldier while the two gray troopers stood at attention next to Light Speed. But before they made any distance, Rainbow and the white soldier heard yelping coming from behind them. Surprised by the sudden shouts of pain, they turned around to see that the two gray troopers were falling from their place in the sky as long trails of blood flew from their necks as they fell. Meanwhile, Light Speed was the only pegasus still in flight with a smile on her face and blood splattered on her hooves. “What are you doing?!” the white soldier panicked, but before he can take any action he was suddenly blown away by a black ray of magic hitting his chest. Rainbow didn't see where the ray came from, but before she could even make a second thought, Light Speed launched herself at her. It was at this split second moment that Rainbow Dash wasn't able to react in time, but she was able to understand what was happening. Light Speed had her hoof prepped to hit Rainbow and her wings were spread wide; somehow, there was a black magic aura coming from the ends of the yellow pegasus's fore-hooves. Though, what Rainbow had her attention on the most were Light's red eyes; they glowed and lit up like flames. The only thing that came to Rainbow's mind at the sight of Light's eyes and wolfish grin is what she remembered seeing during the train ride to Canterlot. Within the next half-second, Light Speed's hoof reached Rainbow, and the black aura bursted into a seeping ball of blackness that consumed the two pegasi, and solidified into a giant black orb in the sky. ----- Princess Cadence, along with four unicorn soldiers, galloped through the hall of the elements and stopped when she reached Celestia, Red Star, and Twilight Sparkle. “What's going on, Cadence? What was that explosion we heard?” Red Star was the first to ask. By the look on her face, she seemed reluctant to ask, in fear of the answer. “There's been an attack, Red Star,” Cadence answered with haste in her voice. “An attack?” Red asked, “how did that happen?” Cadence walked to stand along side Red Star and Celestia. “I don't know the details,” she said, “all I know is that it an obvious attempt at the Elements of Harmony.” “What? Are my friends alright?!” Twilight suddenly called out. Cadence wasn't sure how she should answer the lavender mare at first. “I don't know, Twi, but I really hope so. All I know is Shining Armor and Blue Garnet are at the scene right now; they're getting all your friends here.” Then the young princess turned to Red Star before continuing. “But that's not the worst of it,” she said. “What? What else happened?” Celestia demanded an answer. Cadence swallowed a bit of spit before letting out an answer, “there's a full grown dragon heading toward the city...” “What?!” Twilight yelled, Celestia just had a look of shock, and Red Star analyzed Cadence's expression in hopes she was just messing with them. Once the severity of the situation sunk in, they all trade glances, not knowing what to say next. “What are we going to do?” Twilight opened the question for any pony to answer. “Right now, my soldiers are doing everything they can to stall and slow down the dragon. It is distracted, for the moment.” Cadence added. Then Red Star responded quickly and took charge of the situation. “We need to get all of your friends here immediately,” she said to Twilight, then turned to Cadence, “we have to-” there was a sudden shift in the wind, and all the candles that lit the hall dimmed and almost blew out. At the same time Red Star silenced herself and her attention was redirected as she, Celestia, and Cadence felt a powerful, unfamiliar presence coming from behind them. Without a second thought, they all turned around and each fired a ray of magic from their horns at the same target. The three rays illuminated their path as they traveled in the dark before hitting something, outlining a force field and casting a sizable amount of smoke as the magic dispelled. “Identify yourself-- now!” Red Star ordered. The only light in the hall came from the glowing horns of the two princesses and the general; their angry, teeth-clenching expressions were highlighted by their light. For a moment it was quiet; not even the royal soldiers knew what to do; Twilight just stood behind the princesses. Suddenly, there were hoof-steps, each one a second apart from the other, and they sounded as if they were coming closer. Eventually, the hoof-steps stopped once a figure of a pony became visible behind the smoke and darkness. “My, is the violence really necessary?” the pony in the smoke said sarcastically; the voice clearly belonged to a young colt. Strangely, Twilight Sparkle recognized the voice. Then the lights were somehow lit back on just as suddenly as they were dimmed, and the smoke quickly disbanded. Before the three mares, stood a certain gray coated colt holding a the small, blue box carrying the Elements of Harmony. Celestia's eyes widened as soon as she noticed the box. “Who are you? What are you doing with that!?” she shouted, the glow on her horn becoming brighter as if she was ready to attack. The four soldiers behind the mares took an offensive stance, as if they were ready to attack as well. But they settled down when Red Star gestured them with her hoof to remain still. The colt didn't respond. His eyes wondered until he saw Twilight Sparkle cowering behind Red Star. “Hello, Twilight,” the colt said calmly, “how's it going?” Twilight was surprised. “Midnight Shine? What are you doing here? What's going on?” she asked. Red Star, Celestia, and Cadence traded glances when they realize Twilight was familiar with the colt. “So you're this Midnight Shine I've been hearing so much about?” Red said with a slight grin, “you've made a very stupid choice in revealing yourself to us three. Are you responsible for this attack?” she asked. “I most certainly am not, but I do know who is,” Midnight said as he returned a grin to Red and the two princesses. “Don't worry, I do not intend to harm any of you.” “Trust me, I'm not worried about that,” Red says, letting her confidence speak for her. “What I want to know right now is how you made it this far inside the castle without being detected?” Midnight frowned at Red Star. Then the colt saw a chance to change the subject when he noticed Cadence and Celestia eyeing the decorated box he was holding. “Are you two worried about the contents of this box here?” Midnight asked as he slowly levitated each individual jewelery piece of the elements of harmony. Tossing the box aside, he rotated the elements around himself. “These are some ancient jewels...” the colt mused as he looked at each one. “Hand those over right now!” Celestia stomped her hoof, the blazing light coming from her horn was not letting up. Midnight took the unspoken threat from the princess seriously, and then he slowly levitated the elements of harmony over to the mares. Twilight caught them in her magic and kept them close to her. “Do not let those out of your sight! Do you hear me, Twi?” Red asked. The lavender mare nodded. Then the young commander gestured her soldiers to take formation. Without delay, the four unicorn soldiers galloped to closely surround Midnight Shine. “Arrest him!” the general quickly ordered. “Wait!” Twilight called out, and the attention went to her. “There's something wrong,” she said while she analyzed the elements of harmony, “the elements... I can't feel them. Their power is gone!” “What? What do you mean?” Celestia asked. “I don't feel their power at all,” Twilight repeated. “I can't even recognize them!” The mares had no idea what was going on, but with sudden questions on their minds they all looked back at the colt. They gasped when they see that the four soldiers were on the ground unconscious and Midnight was standing with a solemn look on his face. Without any hesitation or delay, Red Star shot a speeding ray of blue magic at the colt. But when it reached inches from Midnight, the magic ray corroded into crumbles and was blown away into nothing by the wind. “Do not worry, these soldiers are alive,” Midnight said after a short, pause he gave the mares a chance to absorb what just happened. Red Star was especially nervous as she considered how strong one must be to stop her own magic like that. Then, out of mere kindness, Midnight slowly lifted all four of the soldiers and leaned each of them against the wall to the side. “I'm here to talk,” the colt said with sincerity, “and to warn you of what's about to happen at this moment.” The mares looked at each other. Celestia seemed to be the only one with a confident look, so every pony looked at her for suggestions on what to do. The princess tried to muster as much aplomb as she could when she gazed at each one of the ponies who needed her leadership. Taking a breath, Celestia nodded to a silent agreement with the other mares, and they all extinguished the magic glows on their horns and they returned to normal stances. Celestia held a frown as if she was being forced to submit to the strange colt. “Speak,” Celestia bluntly ordered, “what do you seek to tell us?” “I don't seek anything from you or your generals, princess,” Midnight spoke in the least ill-mannered way possible. Then the colt looked over to make eye-contact with Twilight. “My business is with the elements of harmony themselves,” he said with a light smile. Red Star purposefully stepped in front of Twilight, so the colt was forced to focus his attention on the red mare. Meanwhile, the lavender pony took a step back and became submissive, hiding behind her ex-mentor. Midnight didn't seem to notice right away that Celestia and Cadence were looking at a certain figure standing behind the colt; both the princesses grinned. “What in Equestria could your business be with the elements of harmony?” Princess Luna revealed herself as she spoke to the colt in a menacing tone Before Midnight could react, he was stunned by the blue aura covering him, and then with a swift gesture of the mare standing behind him, he was forcefully slammed to the ceiling where he was pinned by his back with his limbs spread. “Wait, Princess Luna!” Twilight called out in a panicky voice, “he's here in peace-- he wants to tell us what's going on.” “Remain silent, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied in a way similar to how one would silence an ignorant child. “This colt does not come in peace,” she said as she looked up at the colt struggling to release himself in the princess's magic, “he has brought invaders into the castle; he is the cause of this attack!” “Is that so?” Celestia asked. “Indeed, I can faintly sense the presence of several intruders-- they're close” Luna said, “we were correct to prepare for such an event.” “What ever you plan to do with me?” Midnight asked as he finds a tolerable position on the ceiling. “Why is he still talking?” Red Star rhetorically asked, looking up at the high ceiling. “You don't have to worry about what will happen to you, so long as you cooperate with us and tell us everything you know!” “Tell you everything about what, exactly...?” Midnight reluctantly wondered. “You know what I'm talking about-- the one true reason why you're so interested in the elements” Red said with the same confidence as before. “Tell me everything you know about the entity!” “... oh... I see,” Midnight murmured, wondering if he should say anything. A few moments of silence pass, and then the colt decided to talk. “All I know for sure is that the entity is returning for the elements of harmony-- to its new host,” Midnight looked at Twilight with the same smile he had earlier. “New host?” Twilight pondered heavily. “What are you going on about? And what did you do to the elements to make them powerless?” Celestia asked, going back to an important issue. “I didn't do anything to the elements; those pieces of jewelry have been powerless for some time now,” Midnight assured, then he moved along to answer the next question, “and yes, you heard correctly. The entity wants to return to its new host.” “What does that even mean?!” Twilight yelped. Midnight grinned. “You created something all those years ago during your training, Twilight,” he spoke as slowly and clearly as possible, “and now they want to challenge you and your friends, the elements of harmony.” Simultaneously, all five of the mares-- even Twilight-- took offensive stances and their horns flared with magic immediately after Midnight mentioned Twilight's past. “How do you know of such things?” Luna growled, demanding an answer. Midnight's grin grew wider. Then suddenly, every pony sensed an overwhelming magical power that came from seemingly nowhere. “Ah! What is that!?” Twilight winced at the feeling. The magic force was so strong and overpowering that all five of the mares were cringing and dismayed. Even their ability to move was stunted and slowed down by the power. Red Star and Celestia looked at each other with horror in their widened eyes. They both recognized the power they were feeling. The magical power became such an irritation, that Luna couldn't sustain to keep Midnight held on the ceiling. Knowing the princess of the night was distracted, Midnight used some of his magic to dispel Luna's grip on him, and he came falling back to the ground. As he fell, all the attention returned to him, and he had himself ready to make a safe landing. And the moment he landed, he took a stance to shoot a magic ray at the wall on the side. The ray hit one of the stain glass windows that decorated the hall, and it sprayed shattered glass all over. While the mares tried to protect themselves from the scattering glass, Midnight galloped ahead and jumped through the window. At that moment that Midnight jumped out of the window, Twilight noticed something: the colt looked back at her with an empty expression. And for a second, Twilight could've sworn she saw Midnight's eyes glow a bright yellow hue, but it happened too fast for her to be certain of what she saw. Another moment later, and Midnight was gone. And the powerful force that the mare's felt just a moment ago vanished just as suddenly as it arrived. “What the hell was that?!” Cadence yelled, not expecting any pony to know the answer. Red Star stuttered as she tried to answer, “th-that power...” she exchanged glances with Celestia, “that was the same feeling Celestia and I had while confronting the entity from when it first appeared...” “So it has deliberately revealed itself to us for the first time...” Luna mused. At the moment, she seemed to be the only mare taking the situation calmly and unagitated. “Strange that it had to distract us in such a convenient time for Midnight Shine...” “Indeed,” Red growled, “and that colt seems to know a lot. Maybe he knows more than we do about this entity... we should capture and question him,” Red said. “Let him go! He isn't a major threat at the moment,” Luna said plainly, “we have bigger priorities right now.” “Right, the dragon,” Red figured. “Actually, it's a different issue that has turned up,” Luna began, looking at Red Star and wearing a severe look as if she knew Red wouldn't like what she's going to say, “two of the intruders I mentioned earlier came from within our own ranks. We've been betrayed by our own loyal soldiers.” “What?” Red growled louder, as if insulted by the suggestion. “That's not possible! Cyclone and I recruited and trained the most loyal, honorable soldiers out there. Are you certain of this, Luna?” Luna didn't respond with words, but instead she let Red Star think about what she just asked. After all, the general did just question the perception abilities of the princess of the night and dreams. “I only know the identity of one of the traitors; I'm not sure about the other,” the princess added with a flat tone. Red Star's brows burrowed. Before anything else could be said, the rest of Twilight's friends came in busting through the doors at the far end of the hall, with four soldiers on either side of them and Shining Armor and Blue Garnet followed shortly behind. “Twilight!” they called. “Girls,” Twilight yelled back, running to them. When they met halfway into the hall and stopped, the soldiers that were escorting Twilight's friends galloped onward until they tended to the wounded soldiers that were still stacked against the wall. They all slowly became returned to consciousness, and the other soldiers helped them up and checked if they were okay. “Twilight, Red Star, do either of you know what's going on?” Rarity asked. “What happened here?” Shining asked, “why are those colts wounded?” “We'll explain later! Right now you all need to put on your elements,” Red said as she levitated each one of the elements and placed them on the heads of their owner. But when she finished putting her element on, she noticed that she still had one left. “Where's Rainbow Dash?” she asked. “She should be arriving any minute now,” Shining Armor assured. Twilight then noticed someone else is missing. “Where's Spike?” she asked calmly, hoping to get a pleasant answer. Shining and Blue looked at each other, nervously. Red Star could tell they didn't want to be the one to say what happened. “That dragon that's loose on the city...” Red Star broke the ice on the subject with a serious tone, “it's Spike isn't it?” Shining and Blue were surprised that Red would willingly say that in front of Twilight and her friends. But, they both nod in unison and confirm Red's theory. “At least, that's what we have to assume,” Blue Garnet added. “I see...” Red looked at Twilight, then at the other mares standing in front of her. For the most part, they were speechless, but remarkably collective. What Red Star didn't know is that they had dealt with this sort of situation before. “Spike? How could that of happened so suddenly?” Pinkie Pie asked. “On it's own, it's impossible,” Red explained, “some pony or something must've done something to arouse Spike's dragon greed...” She looked down, then looked back up after a few moments, with a reassured look. Then the unicorn soldiers came and stood at attention beside their general. “Are you all alright?” Red asked them. “Yes, ma'am,” one of them answered. “Sir,” Red quietly corrected. Then she looked at Shining Armor. “Captain, round up all of your available troops and focus on distracting the dragon long enough to evacuate the city.” “You think I'm gonna let him do this alone? I'm going too,” Cadence announced as she flew next to her husband. “Alright, just get to it!” Red ordered. Shining and Cadence nodded then they made a gesture to the royal guards, and five of them followed as they galloped out the door. Red looked at her old student, “Twilight, you and your friends are essential for what we're going to do next; stay with princess Celestia and Luna for now.” “But what about Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie cried. “Yeah, we can't do nothin' without her,” Applejack added. “Trust me, I will personally find her and bring her back here,” Red promised. “But you all need to be protected in the meantime-- go with the princesses!” “You heard her girls, let's get going.” Twilight took control of her group and they started trotting away. But before Twilight could join her friends, Red Star grabbed her and pulled her close. “Twi,” she whispered into the purple mare's ear, “I need everything to go smoothly and I need every pony's trust. Therefore, this is not the time for secrecy. Your friends need to know what's going on...” Red made eye contact with her old student, and Twilight understood what her mentor wanted. “Alright, Red Star,” Twilight said, “I'll tell them.” Red slowly let Twilight go, and the lavender unicorn trotted away. “General, if I may speak,” Blue Garnet spoke in her serious tone, “what exactly happened here?” Red looked at her lieutenant, and debated in her head on what to say. “We encountered the colt named Midnight Shine. And from where the conversation was going he knows about the entity just about as much as we do-- maybe more.” “Wow,” Blue adjusted her glasses, “well where is he?” “He got away... and he seems to be a very powerful with magic.” “Well then,” Blue's eyes shifted to the guards standing beside her, “is that why my soldiers were unconscious on the wall?” “Yes,” Red Star took a silent gulp, “but that's not the worst part. The entity emitted its direct power to all of us, physically dismaying us long enough for Midnight Shine to escape.” Blue's eyes widened in disbelief. “That's...” she almost didn't believe her general, “very disturbing...” “Indeed-- to think that something as powerful as that entity had help and possibly cooperated with that strange colt...” “Well...” Blue stood at attention, “what are your orders, General?” “We need to find Rainbow Dash, first of all.” “Shining Armor and I have already sent some colts to get her. But we haven't heard from them, yet.” Blue's expression changed to one of anxiety all of a sudden, “Red Star, if I may ask, what are we going to do about the dragon and the entity?...” “We're going to subdue the dragon and find and kill the entity...” Blue gave Red a shocked look that said 'you're kidding me'. Then she joked, "if we both make it out of this alive, I'm resigning.” Red chuckled and smiled. Blue's expression fell and her tone became dread, “and I'm sorry that I have to do this.” Red was caught completely off guard. Blue charged up a purple orb from the tip of her horn that made an eerie noise as it quickly grew in size. In the instant Red realized what her lieutenant was about to do, she used the extremely small amount of time she had to summon a force field around every pony-- the princesses, Twilight and her friends-- on the other side of the hall, but she didn't have enough time to do anything to protect herself. Then she instinctively forced her eyes shut. Blue Garnet set off the charged orb, and an insanely bright explosion consumed the entire hall. Red Star and one of the unicorn soldiers were blown away by the force of the explosion, and they both flew out one of the stain glass windows. The other two soldiers that stood closer to Blue, however, were entirely incinerated by the fiery blast. The force of the explosion destroyed every stained glass window and it blew apart some parts of the walls and ceiling. ----- In the distance, the strange mare with the black fedora saw the bright display coming from the castle and was furious. “Idiot!” she growled, stomping her hoof on the grass, “we are not suppose to bring harm to those who are not involved in our business!” Then she tried to calm down by controlling her breathing. In an attempt to access the situation, the mare looked up at the sky and gazed at the large black sphere floating above the Canterlot Garden, right where Rainbow Dash and Light Speed were last seen. The sphere was elevated high in the sky, just above the large lake in the center of the garden. And for the most part, it was nicely camouflaged in the night sky. “Though it looks like the process has begun...” she thought. Then she looked off at the castle in the distance, and said with annoyance in her tone, “if any of you try anything stupid, I will have to get involved and stop you!” Eventually, the strange mare trotted her way towards the castle. And her eyes started to glow a bright, flaming green hue.